


Not Just Wednesday's

by katieelizabeth



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-14
Updated: 2015-01-14
Packaged: 2018-03-07 07:51:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3167192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katieelizabeth/pseuds/katieelizabeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clara and the Doctor meet in a cafe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Just Wednesday's

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing a Doctor Who story.  
> It's what I wish had happened at the end of Death in Heaven.  
> None of the characters are mine, unbetaed so the mistakes are.  
> All of the words taken directly from the episode are in italics.  
> Please read and leave kudos and comment, if you feel like it x x

Clara was nervous.  More nervous than she’d probably ever been.  It’d been two weeks, two whole weeks since she’d sent the message.  That was two whole weeks of waiting, two whole weeks of hoping, two whole weeks of listening for the TARDIS wheezing and two whole weeks of looking for a flash of blue around every corner.

He’d called just over half an hour ago and said he’d be there.  She’d got to the café in ten minutes and had been waiting ever since, her nerves increasing tenfold every time the door opened.  Clara sighed, fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist.  She had everything she wanted to say planned out, she’d rehearsed it and it was word perfect, though how she’d do with him sitting in front of her was anyone’s guess.

The time ticked on and still no Doctor.  Leaning back in her chair, she tilted her head back slightly and focussed on the poster right beside the door.  He’d probably got distracted, probably slipped off to watch a supernova or something.  Of course he was late, the man was never on time.  She smiled softly as she thought back to the time he’d taken three weeks to get coffee.  How long ago had that been?  She couldn’t tell.  It felt like years.  Maybe it had been.

Just then the door opened, her eyes flicked over and there he was, looking right at her, the TARDIS visible behind him.  He looked the same as ever of course, holey jumper, attack eyebrows and magicians coat firmly in place.

He made his way over to her and slid into the seat opposite, resting his hands on the table in front of him.  _“Hey.”_

_“Hey.”_ she replied, looking down at the table.

_“I got your message.”_

_“Two weeks late.”_

“Two weeks?  _Not bad.”_ The Doctor smirked.

_“Improving.”_

_“I see you’ve got news for me.”_ he said pointedly.

_“News?”_ she asked confusedly.

He nodded at her wrist, her hand moved automatically to cover the item he was alluding to.  _“He figured it out then? P.E. figured out there was a way home.”_

_“Yeah.  Yeah he did.”_ she mumbled, moving her fingertips over the broken bracelet.

_“Oh, good old P.E.  He’ll make a maths teacher yet.”_

Clara nodded slowly, this wasn’t exactly going as she’d planned.  _“Listen, Doctor.  There’s something that I have to tell you and, er, it’s not good news so just-just listen, ok?”_

_“I know.”_ he replied.

_“Sorry?”_

_“I know exactly what you’ve got to tell me.”_ he clarified, leaning back in his chair.

_“You do?”_

“ _You and Danny are together now.”_ he said matter-of-factly.   _“That’s great.  That’s how it should be.  But the old man and the blue box, that’s never going to fit in.  So no more flying around.  No more lying.”_

_“Ok, no, that’s not exactly…”_ Clara protested, shaking her head. 

He cut across her.  _“It’s fine.”_

_“No, it’s not fine.  It-it really isn’t fine._ ”

“Clara it is.  I understand and it’s ok.”

“But it isn’t!” she said forcefully.  “It isn’t ok.”

“Yes it is.  Really, I…”

“Would you just listen to me, Doctor!!” she shouted, the café falling silent around them.  Clara ducked her head, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. 

“Clara?” The Doctor was watching her intently, his head cocked to one side.

She took a deep breath, deciding to revert to her original script.  “Danny-Danny did figure out how to get home but he-he didn’t use it.”

“I don’t understand.”

Clara squeezed her eyes shut.  “Danny gave the bracelet to a boy.  A boy that he accidentally shot when he was in Iraq.  He said he had promises to keep and he didn’t come home.”

The Doctor stayed silent for a long time, his gaze never leaving her.  “She lied.” he croaked finally.  “Missy.  She lied.”

Her already fractured heart, just about broke in two for him.  “Gallifrey?”

_“I entered the coordinates, just like she said._  And there was nothing, Clara.  Nothing.”

“Oh, Doctor.” she breathed, reaching out and grasping his hand tightly. 

He made no attempt to shake off her hand, for once he just sat there and allowed her to comfort him.  “I thought…I really thought that just this once, she was telling the truth.  But there was just blackness.”

“I’m so sorry.”  Clara blinked back her tears, squeezing his hand tightly.  For a long time they just sat there, holding hands.  She was only dimly aware of the café around her and the stares from the patrons, though she couldn’t bring herself to care about them. 

Eventually he drew his hand away, tucking both under the table and averting his eyes.  “I’m sorry about Danny.”

“Thank you…” she murmured.  “…so, what are you going to do now?”

The Doctor shrugged.  “The usual, I expect.”

“Can I come?” she blurted out.  “I mean properly this time, not just Wednesday’s.  If-if you don’t mind, that is.”

He lifted his head.  “Not just Wednesday’s?”

“No.  Everyday, if you’ll have me.”

“What about the boy?  Don’t you…”

She shook her head and cut across him.  “No.  It’s sorted, kind of.  I spoke to Kate…”

“Kate?  Kate Lethbridge-Stewart?”

Clara hummed.  “I wasn’t really sure who else to go to, since he’s legally dead.  Danny told me to find his parents but I didn’t know how.   Even if I had, how could I explain that their son, who they buried, wasn’t actually dead?  Kate arranged for him to go to a foster family, he’ll probably have to get a new identity or something.  I don’t know.  But he’s fine, he doesn’t need me.  Anyway, what do you think?”

"About that?"

She gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes.  "About me coming with you."

He frowned.  “Why?  Why would you want to leave properly?  What about your job and your family.”

“I can come back and visit my family, it’s not like I’m talking about staying away forever.  And school…it’s just not the same.  And before you say it, it’s not Danny, I just don’t love it like I did.” she paused and spread her hands out on the table top.  “And I just…I’ve missed this.  More than I thought I would…” her voice wavered slightly as she decided whether or not to say the last part of her speech.  After half a second of deliberation she decided to get it over with, it was now or never.  “…I’ve missed _you_ , Doctor.  More than anything.  More than the travelling.  More than the adventures.  More than the wonders.”

He didn’t respond, just stared at her.  His grey eyes never wavering, he didn’t even blink.  It even looked as if he was holding his breath.

Clara frowned.  “Doctor?”

Still he just sat there, unmoving. 

She began to wonder if she’d made an idiot of herself, she had hoped that he would’ve missed her like she’d missed him.  But what if she’d misjudged the situation entirely?  What if he’d only agreed to meet her because he wanted to say goodbye?  “If you don’t want me to come, you can just say.  Or we could just do Wednesday’s again or um…not if you’d rather.”

Finally he blinked rapidly, it was almost like he had woken up.  “No!” he snapped harshly.

Clara flinched as if he’d slapped her in the face.  “Oh…oh ok.” she said in a small voice.  “That’s fine, really…I can’t expect you to…no…”

“Clara…” he said, suddenly cutting across her.

She shook her head.  “It’s ok, Doctor, honestly.  I should probably get going actually and you-you probably have things to do so…”

“Clara…” he said again.  She ignored him again and got to her feet, pulling her coat on.  “Clara, just hold on…”

“You don’t need to explain, it’s ok…” she said firmly.  “…it was a silly idea.”

The Doctor got up, shaking his head vigorously.  “Clara, just listen to me.”

“I understand…” she insisted, pushing away the pain.  “…I’ve seen too much, got too close or something.  I’ll be fine.  It’s probably better actually.” Clara paused and swallowed hard.  “I’m not sure I can say goodbye though, so I’ll just go, now…yes, I’ll do that.” she attempted a smile, though it felt more like a grimace on her face.  “I’m-I’m so glad you came, Doctor.” with a swift nod, she turned and walked out of the café.  She was aware that he was behind her but she wouldn’t, couldn’t turn around. 

“Clara!!  Just wait.”

Suddenly his hand was on her shoulder, she responded to his touch automatically, grinding to a halt.  “Doctor, please.  Just leave it, ok.” she murmured, squeezing her eyes shut.  “I don’t want to stand and listen to you reel off a whole load of reasons why I can’t stay, I really, really don’t.  So just, be safe and call if you need…oh that’s stupid, you don’t need me, probably never did.  Not really, never mind what the other you said.”

“Oh for pity’s sake, Clara!!” he shouted gruffly, his accent coming through more strongly than usual.  “Of course I need you!!  I’ll always need you!!”

Clara froze, his words ringing in her ears as she turned on her heel to face him.  “R-really?” she croaked.

“Of course.” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  “How could you think I don’t?”

“You said no.”

He rolled his eyes.  “I said no to not.”

“What?” she asked, squinting at him.

“You said ‘we can just do Wednesday’s or not’ I said no to that.”

“Well, you should’ve specified.”

The Doctor groaned loudly.  “Well, if you'd let me get a word in edgewise, I would have.”

They stood facing each other, his words finally slotting into place.  “You mean it?  I can come?”

“Of course…actually…” he broke off and delved into the inside pocket of his magicians coat, pulling something out and offering it to her.

“What is it?” she asked, stepping closer.

“TARDIS key.  Don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier.”

Tears immediately sprang up in her eyes as she held a hand out, enclosing the key in her fist when he handed it over.

“Oh no, your eyes are doing that thing again.  How many times do I have to say it?  Get those under control!”

Clara sniffed and gave him a watery smile before throwing her arms around him.

The Doctor let out a huff of surprise.  “What did I say about the hugging?”

“Just this once?”

He groaned.  “Fine.  Just this once.”

Smiling into his shoulder, she held him tighter, to her surprise he responded in kind, his arms wrapping round her too.  She could feel each individual finger, pressing into her back as he clung to her.  _“Why don’t you like hugging, Doctor?”_ she asked after a few minutes.

_“Never trust a hug.”_ he replied, his voice sounding much deeper when she was holding him so close.  _“It’s just a way to hide your face.”_

Clara tutted and pulled away, smiling properly for the first time in ages.

He returned the smile and turned back to the TARDIS, unlocking the door.  “So, where to first?” he asked, pushing the door open and striding inside.  “Vegas in 1971?  I could take you to meet Elvis, I met him once.” she smiled, closing the door behind her.  “He let me try on his jumpsuit, I looked ridiculous.  Or what about Charlie Chaplin?  I’ve always thought he’d be brilliant.  Or Arthur Conan Doyle.  You know, apparently he based Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson on Vastra and Jenny.  Or Future Mars, they had lovely apples there in 4025.”

“Apples?  On Future Mars?”

“Oh yes.  Future Martians are famous for them.  Planet of the Shrubs?  We never made it there, did we?”

Clara shook her head.  “No, we never did but could we stop by my flat first?”

“Your flat?” he asked, looking a tad disappointed, after all he had offered her apples on Future Mars and Elvis.  “Why?”

“I need to pick up my suitcase.”

“Your suitcase?  You packed a suitcase.”

She rolled her eyes.  “Of course I did.  It’s been by the door for two weeks.”

A huge grin broke out across his face, it was so infectious she couldn’t help but smile back.  “Right, first stop, your flat.  Where to then?”

Shrugging, she moved forward and patted the console gently, which earned her a soft sighing from the machine.  “Anywhere.  You choose.”

The Doctor nodded sharply.  “Anywhere it is.” he leaned across the console and twiddled three dials and then wrapped his fingers around the large lever in front of him.  “Ready?”

“Ready.” she replied, gripping the edge of the console tightly.

He yanked the lever and the TARDIS shuddered and shook, throwing them into the vortex, the engine wheezing and groaning loudly.

For the first time, in a very long time, she felt like she was home.

 


End file.
